Check out the ‘Intro to DoN’ video series on Drunk On Nectar’s youtube channel to learn more about the game!
In this first part we take a look at ‘Pollination’ – one of the cornerstones of DoN’s gameplay. Keep an eye out for future videos to learn about all things DoN!
AI units in Drunk On Nectar need to perform complex tasks such as flying around the map foraging nectar, fighting rivals and capturing land all while evading not just obstacles along the ground as in most games (for which the default NavMesh in Unreal Engine would sufficie), but obstacles high in the air such as tall, dense trees, landscape formations and so on.
To achieve this, I wrote a custom 3D aerial/flying pathfinding solution for Unreal Engine in C++, check out this video to watch the system in action. One part of this solution that admittedly needs work is better decomposition of the navigation volumes across a map with complex obstacles. I’m working on a different NAV building algorithm for this and will post an update with a hopefully tighter decomposition (i.e. lesser number of volumes and a more visually pleasing spread of volumes across the map). For now, the system works well for my game and I haven’t noticed any adverse performance implications either!
While I don’t go into too much detail of technical implementation in this video I can post more if people are interested (and if I can find the time!)
I alluded to a ‘Living Flora’ system on DoN’s Steam Concepts page and there were many questions asked on what Living Flora meant and just how much of the map would live.
Well, finally here’s a video to provide a taste for Drunk On Nectar’s Living Flora system!
The Living Flora system is one of the cornerstones of DoN’s strategy gameplay. This system allows plants in the game to do more than just sway in the wind as pretty props; flora in DoN dynamically cycle through their natural lifecycle(s).
So what on earth does that mean? Plants in DoN first exist as seeds. These seeds take root, form shoots and eventually form one or many flower buds that blossom and bloom. If a flower is pollinated successfully by a pollinator (bees, butterflies, basically -You, the player!) then the plant forms seed pods around the flower bud while the flower itself withers. These seed pods are then carried around the game map (through a complex process to be described later) and these seeds take root to usher in the birth of the next generation of plants!
To make all of this easier to digest I will be creating a Living Flora playlist on DoN’s youtube channel where I’ll upload bite sized content so the Living Flora paradigm can be better understood, especially from a gameplay standpoint.
I will also be creating another youtube playlist on ‘The Basics of Drunk On Nectar’ which will focus on core gameplay rules, victory conditions, etc so that everyone has a much better idea of the overall gameplay.
Look forward to hearing your feedback and suggestions!
— Venugopalan Sreedharan
Drunk On Nectar is a third-person action strategy game and an ode to the beauty of nature. From butterflies to bees to hawkmoths and more, choose your favorite winged wonder and explore lush green surroundings with your team of pollinators.
Capture turf, harvest nectar from flowers and form strategies for sustaining your population while deterring rival factions.
Swift flight speeds and high reflex aerial combat will satisfy your third-person action cravings while a deep strategy system revolving around the nature’s tenuous balance between insect population, nectar availability and the pollination and growth of plants will push your management skills to the limit.
DoN (short for Drunk On Nectar) also features a living flora system where plants go through actual cycles of growth, pollination, reproduction and seed dispersal aided by their winged pollinator friends.
I’m Venugopalan Sreedharan, an aspiring game dev and the sole developer of DoN. I wanted to create a game that allows you to wander amidst nature as one of its splendidly subtle creatures – the insect pollinators, romanticized through action and strategy elements in a manner only possible through our beloved medium of gaming. I hope you and gamers across the world too will enjoy experiencing DoN!
Please check out the official launch trailer above and stay tuned for regular updates on the development of DoN. In the coming posts I will discuss several gameplay aspects of DoN and reveal upcoming milestones. DoN is currently in Alpha and I would love to hear your feedback and suggestions so that we can make this game blossom to its ultimate potential.
Subscribe to this site and also visit DoN at Steam Concepts, Facebook and Twitter with your thoughts!
For further information you may also reach me directly via the Contact page 🙂